Training
So,
Lil ole me went on a hunt for a special someone and you know what? I found her.
Jo leaned against the wall next to the entrance of the gym. A burning cigarette hung loosely between her fingers as she mulled over the events of the last couple days. When she finished this, she was gonna go looking for Kris and give that woman a monster hug.
Kris had after grabbing some food and a talk with Rhiannon, gone on the search well not so much a search more of a hunt for Jo. She took the elevator down to the gym floor, arching an eyebrow as it was empty. No sign of Nick either, she'd have to check in with him at some point but right now, needed to find Jo. She wandered towards the entrance of the gym and stuck her head out before she smirked as her eyes rested on Jo," Miss me?" She teased.
Jo jumped at looked over at the familiar voice teasing her from the door way. She dropped the half finished cigarette and bounded over to Kris, engulfing her in that hug. "Yes!" She squeezed the woman and broke into a huge grin.
Kris laughed as she returned the hug," Missed you too." She murmured and grinned. She still had some black in her eyes but she was doing okay, a lot less with the creepy.
Jo released the other woman and grabbed her hand instead, dragging her to where the butt had been dropped. She bent to retrieve it and took a drag. "Wait with me a minute while I finish this, then we should go hang out and talk."
Kris allowed herself to be dragged," I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." She affirmed with a nod," Hanging out and talking sounds good though, haven't done that for a longggg time."
Jo made short work of the half smoke and stubbed it out against the wall. "Where do we want to go?" She dropped the cold butt into a trash can and tipped her head at Kris in question.
Kris shrugged," Um..mine or your room? I mean I just love being out of lockdown but the.." She glanced around and shifted at the shadows," The shadows out here kind of creep me out."
Jo nodded and grabbed the door, pulling it open. "Mine.. I have Cleo and she'd love to see her mommy." She smiled warmly at Kris, holding the door for her to enter. "And I got chocolate." She winked and grinned quietly.
Kris smirked lightly and lifted her eyebrows," Chocolate hey? You know me too well." She then wandered back into the warehouse," How's Cleo? Hopefully she didn't eat your socks, she does that you know...it's weird."
Jo chortled and shook her head faintly. "As far as I know, she hasn't eaten anything she wasn't supposed to. She's got Jayden for company, afterall." Now of course, they'd walk into her room and discover it absolutely destroyed by two hyper kittens.
" Oh boy." Kris commented to the sound of the two kittens being together, she slid her hands into the pockets of her jeans," So how are you?"
"I've been alright, a little stressed." Jo keyed the door to her room after they got off the lift, and opened the door, pushing it in so Kris could enter. "It's been a pretty wild ride around here lately." Her voice was tight, her eyes matching the tone.
Kris frowned lightly, taking Jo's hand and giving it a light squeeze," Hopefully it'll be less of a wild ride with me around huh? I mean I'm not all myself yet but definitely making less with the creepy." She offered Jo a slight smile before she tipped her head as one black and one grey kitten went sliding across the floor.
Jo squeezed back and smiled, closing the door behind them, lest two kitties decide it's time to escape and go rambling around the warehouse. "I think you'll be just fine." She met Kris' eyes without flinching at the black still there and smiled warmly.
Kris gave Jo a smile that matched hers," Anyways, you should have smelt me after I got out of lockdown." She pulled a slight face and smirked," Don't know how Hayden stood it."
Jo wrinkled her nose in sympathy, both for Hayden for putting up with the odor and for Kris for having to live in it. "I suppose it doesnt get much worse than that, eh?" She scooped Cleo up and held her out to Kris before sitting down in her desk chair.
Kris took Cleo and began to coe at her as she rubbed her hand over Cleo's stomach, her cat was obviously happy to see her by the way it was nuzzling close to her and purring loudly. Kris' memories of what she had done as Orion's slave was still fuzzy but she knew with time, they would come back but she would deal with them," No it doesn't, but it's good to be out."
Jo nodded faintly and watched her best friend quietly, glad the kitten hadn't rejected her. Animals knew when something was really wrong, and the way Cleo reacted to Kris told her everything was going to turn out just as it should. "I can't imagine, honestly. Siddown.. want something to drink?" This said as she rummaged in a desk drawer and came up with a bar of plain chocolate for the other woman.
Kris took a seat on one of the nearby chairs, before she frowned lightly as Cleo batted at her eyes," Okay..down you go." She murmured softly, as she placed her black kitten on the ground. She then looked to Jo, and her eyes lit up at the bar of chocolate, man she was too easy.
Jo chuckled softly and tossed the candy to Kris, then grabbing a couple sodas and offering one to her friend before opening her own. She sat on the floor near where Kris had settled and looked up to her. "I'm not gonna dig at you for what happened.. I'm just glad you're back with us."
Kris caught the candy before she took the soda being offered to her, she broke off a bit of chocolate and did what she always did with chocolate. Melted it and ate it off her thumb," Yeah same here, I was kind of off there for a while.." She shrugged and smirked down at Jo,
Jo just chuckled softly and sipped at her soda. She set it on the floor and sprawled out, arms behind her head and looked up at the ceiling of the room. "So honestly, how are you?"
Kris exhaled slowly and shrugged." I'll be alright, he's still in here..." At this point, she tapped the side of her head," Most of me is back though so that's where he's going to stay, in my head..and yeah, kinda messed but I'll be alright."
Jo pushed herself up and got to her knees, shuffling to where Kris sat, and she wrapped her friend in a hug. "I'm here, and if he decides he's gonna do something else to you, I'll help you through." She squeezed tightly.
Kris' arms went around Jo, squeezing her back tightly before she let out a long held breath," Thanks." Her voice held a slight waver.
Jo rubbed her hands ovr Kris' back slowly, just holding on and letting both her friend and the nasty that was trying to control her that she was there, and completely unwilling to let go.
Kris closed her eyes and rested her forehead down on Jo's shoulder, her breaths were shaky but they calmed with Jo's hands as they rubbed across her back." It's good to be home." She said with a slight smile.
Jo just kept with the soothing rub, a peaceful look on her face and in her eyes. "It's very good to have to home, the babies and I missed you." So spoken, both kittens scattered over to them and started pawing and batting both women.
Kris nodded weakly, her arms tightening around Jo for another brief moment before she groaned." Oh man..and I'm crying, I don't do this." She laughed slightly, moving a hand to wipe at her eyes.
"Mph.. you'd think we were married.. me and the babies." Jo laughed softly and shook her head faintly. She dropped one hand and shoved it in her pocket, looking for a tissue or a bandana or some such. Finding one, she pulled it out and offered it to Kris.
Kris took it and wiped at her eyes," I hate crying." She muttered with a smirk, pulling away slightly before she shrugged. Her dark eyes considerably lighter before her gaze dropped to Jo's hand and she couldn't resist commenting," Though by the looks of it, you are already."
Jo flushed and sat back on her heels, nodding. "Kinda looks that way." She took the ring off and offered it to Kris for inspection, it had the engraving in it, of course. It was already slightly scratched and scuffed as she never took it off for anything.
Kris lifted it up to her eyes, arched an eyebrow," Nice." She then smiled and offered the ring back.
Jo took it and slid it back on her finger, flexing her hand to settle it back in place as she smiled. "Thanks.. it was a very nice surprise for me, I had no idea she was going to do this." Jo looked around her room and chuckled softly. "Pretty soon, you'll meet her.. I don't think you have yet."
" I had a brief meeting with her that one morning." Kris said with a nod before she leaned back into her seat and worked on threading her fingers through one another, a nervous habit but it stopped her from clenching her hands.
"Oh yeah, like that was fun for you." Jo remembered, shaking her head. "Still sorry about that. No, she's actually thinking of giving her room over to Giles.. which would end up with her moving in here." She gestured around the room they sat in before taking Kris' hands in her own and gripping them firmly.
" Big step." Kris said with a nod before her gaze dropped to her hands being held by Jo," I hope it all works out, you know all that good stuff." She offered Jo a smirk which turned to a smile.
Jo smiled, her eyes holding the knowledge that everything would work out as it was meant to be. "Yeah, big indeed. But thanks." She winced as her knees finally protested being used to hold her upright. She shifted and settled her butt on the floor, back to Kris, leaning against her legs.
Kris looked down at Jo and rested her arms around her neck," What do you suggest I do? Call Hayden or surprise him by showing up at his house?" She then tipped her head at Jo.
Jo tipped her head back to look up at Kris, a thoughtful look on her face. "I guess if I was you, I'd call first. He probably would freak out a little if you just turned up at his door." She reached up and laid herhands over Kris' wrists lightly.
Kris smirked lightly and chuckled," Yeah, can you imagine that?" She then went on to say," Oh hey Hayden, yeah I'm no longer being controlled by a bad ass demon, and I wanted to see you so here I am." She then laughed and shook her head," Oh yeah, that would work great, huh?"
Jo chuckled softly and shook her head slightly. "The phone's right there if you want to call him." She gave a gentle smile as she pointed at the desk where the phone was.
" Nah, I'll call him later. This is Jo time." She said with a smile and a wink.
Jo beamed at those words and she tightened her fingers across Kris' wrists lightly. "Cool, I like having time just be for me and someone else."
Kris chuckled lightly and smiled before she leaned down and gave Jo's head a kiss," Missed this you know, what with the.." She trailed off and shrugged.
Jo understood, she didn't require any other explanation. She just hoped Kris didn't get hauled off again, she didn't think she'd be able to handle that. "Yeah.." Her voice was soft, wistful.
Kris caught the change in Jo's voice and ended up, curling her arms that much tighter around Jo's neck and nuzzling her head against hers," Hey, not going anywhere unless it's to kick some major demon ass." She offered Jo a light grin and a wiggle of her eyebrows.
Jo chuckled softly and shook her head. "Not so go mommy on you, but not by yourself, ok? Not even just with Hayden, I want you safe and fully well before you run off to kick any ass at all."
Kris nodded and said with a solemn look," You have my promise I'm not going anywhere until I'm fully well, even then I'm taking back up."
Jo nodded as well and smiled faintly. "Good." She fell silent, appearing to be thinking about things.
Kris tipped her head to the side, as she watched Jo's face. She took his moment to stay quiet, knowing that everyone needed quiet time when they thought. She rested her chin on Jo's shoulder and simply looked at her.
Jo blinked a few times and shook her head slowly. "It's been so.. wrong.. around here. Giles all messed up and Buffy not herself, you'd gone missing.. Giles is getting better now, and you're back, but not up to speed. Buffy.. I'm not so sure what's going to happen with that.." She fell silent again with a sigh.
Kris frowned lightly before she ran her hand over Jo's hair softly and said reassuring," Hey it's going to be okay, trust me okay? It's all fucked up now but it'll sort, it will." She squeexed Jo softly and pressed a kiss to her hair.
Jo sighed again and nodded. "I'm sure it will.. but at the moment it feels like waiting for the other shoe to drop, what's gonna come next? Who'll die now? Who'll be stolen away this time?"
Kris nodded," Yeah I know, it's all part of our new life." She sighed softly," No-one knows whats coming next Jo, thats what makes life so much fun. We shouldn't think about the when's, the whose and the if's. It's all about living in the present, what we have and who we have now." She tipped her head to look at Jo and gave her another light squeeze.
Jo gave a half smile and nodded, speaking quietly. "Yeah, I know. I don't really have to like that any day, one of my friends could just vanish though." She reached for her forgotten soda and took a slow sip, clearing the bitter flavor of her previous words out of her mouth.
" Yeah I know, it sucks." Kris said with a sigh," Sometimes I wish I hadn't been called you know? But then I see how much fucked up shit is out there and I'm happy that I can do something about it," She smoothed her hand through Jo's hair.
"Yeah, same here. I said something along those lines to Shayne.. she's new here, a new magic person." Jo couldn't quite bring herself to call those people witches, though she supposed that's what they were, truthfully.
" New magic person hey?" Kris nodded slightly and smirked," Least we got new people coming in."
Jo grimaced and then laughed. "Yeaahhh.. she studied with the same coven in England that Willow did." Her tone was wry, she felt bad for the people who had no knowledge and were suddently thrust into the know of this world.
Kris wiggled in her seat which in turned wiggled Jo with her," Well I'm sure she'll be fine, once she gets shown the ropes of course."
Jo chuckled softly and finished the last of her soda after Kris finished wiggling. "I imagine she will be just fine indeed." There were plenty of wonderful people here to show new ones how things worked, and how to be safe.
" Yep." Kris affirmed with a nod," I've got to get back into training and attempt watcher, slayer bonding. Gabriel and I aren't exactly close." She shrugged and exhaled slowly.
Jo nodded faintly. "I'll train with you, Xander's going to take over watcher-ing for me for a while, I think. Gabe's been busy, and hurting inside." She was referring to Mycroft's death, of course. "I don't know who my patrol partner is going to end up being though.
Kris tipped her head," Sure sounds great." She then sighed," I'm not going to be the best slayer for a watcher to have..." She trailed off and shrugged," Oh well but sure training sounds good."
Jo looked at the clock and then at Kris with a half smile. "You want to go down to the gym and get a light session in?" Her shoulders flexed and relaxed as she said that, she needed a good sparring session, but she wasn't sure her friend would be up for it.
Kris chew on her bottom lip," Sure, why not?" She shrugged," I don't really think I can train deep..more like light training, body's still..well..dettoxing in a sense."
Jo nodded again and leaned forward slightly, aware of the arms still around her neck and resting on her shoulders. "Let's do it then.." She grinned faintly. "I have to meet with Xander in a bit anyway, so the gym works out well for me.
" Alright cool." Kris unwrapped her arms from around Jo's neck," Go easy on me okay? I'm kind of miss shakealot at the moment." She smirked lightly and looked at Jo.
Jo chortled softly and clambered up from the floor to her feet, offering a hand to Kris. "I won't whip ya too bad." She grinned and shook her head slowly.
Kris took the offered hand," Ahh I knew you loved me really." She winked and got to her feet.
Jo snickered and tugged Kris' hand as she moved to the door, opened and slipped through into the hallway. "Of course I do, you're my best friend around this place."
Kris smirked," I know how you feel." With that, she followed after Jo with a smile on her lips. The first genuine one in a while.
Jo grinned and headed for the gym and a light spar or whatever they'd be doing.
Kris followed after Jo," Been a while since my last sparring session, I just see days of bruises and aches for days after." She smirked lightly at Jo.
Jo cackled and looked back for a moment after she punched the button for the elevator. "You'll love every second of it. Besides, I said I'd go easy on ya."
" Love every second of it huh?" Kris eyed Jo cautiously and noted the cackle," You know with a laugh like that, I find that very hard to believe." She gave Jo a playful nudge.
Jo just grinned and got on the lift, dragging Kris with her. "I will, wouldn't want to put you back out of commission, after all." The elevator decended and let them off into the gym.
" Yeah, because that would just suck. Little ole me out of commision again." Kris said with a tip of her head and a small grin.
"You've not been having too much luck lately." Jo stepped over to the boxing area and gave Kris a questioning look. "Little hand to hand?"
Kris nodded," Sure sounds good." She moved over to the boxing area, placing her feet slightly apart and shrugging her shoulders for a moment.
Jo stretched a little and took a stance opposite Kris, shaking herself out a bit. "After you.." She grinned, inviting the other woman to throw the first blow.
Kris arched an eyebrow before she raised her fists, and took a swing for Jo's chin as the other moved to hit at her side. She exhaled slowly with every punch, concentrating on her target.
Jo's head moved to avoid the blow to the chin, but the one to her side landed quite firmly, her own hands struck out, aimed at Kris' right shoulder and left hip.
Kris stepped back on her heel, using the movement to miss the hit to her right shoulder but she took the hit to her hip, fairly sure she would have a bruise there in the morning. Using the impact of the hit to help her momentum, she twisted round and hit for Jo's shoulder as the other hand curled up towards Jo's stomach.
Jo'd been thrown off balance by missing Kris' shoulder and both the other woman's blows landed hard, she lost her breath briefly, taking a stumbling step back and grinning. She lshed out low with her right foot, trying to hook it behind Kris' knees to bring her down.
Kris' eyes widened slightly before she arched her back and pressed her hands down on the ground, to avoid from falling on her back. Grunting slightly she managed to flip herself around to her front before she rolled forward and got to her feet.
Jo looked at Kris and frowned faintly. "Problems?" Still on her guard, she waited to see what the reciprocation of that knock down would be.
Kris shook her head slightly, closing her eyes for a moment as she felt a familiar presence tugging at the back of her mind. Opening them slowly, she exhaled slowly and cracked her neck. " Nice move."
"Thanks." Jo took a lazy swipe with a half curled fist, aiming it for Kris' jaw, her eyes hooded as she fell into the rhythm of the fight.
Kris moved an arm up to block the punch to her jaw before she ducked in low, wrapped an arm around Jo and with a grunt mostly due to exertion, she attempted to lift the other woman off her feet and move her to the ground on her back. She kept her feet flat on the ground to keep her balance.
Jo dropped her center of gravity, making it extremely hard for Kris to get her off the ground. Her own stance was wide and low now and they grappled for control for a moment.
Kris smirked slightly, turning on her heel and so now her back was bracing across Jo's and with another spin, she attempted to shift the current grapple's momentum. She shifted her own center of gravity for a moment, making her side of the grapple a little easier.
Jo grunted as she was twisted and turned quite without her help and she hit the mats hard, but she managed to take Kris with her and she pinned the other woman to the floor.
Kris tipped her head, giving Jo a smirk before she frowned. Eyes closing for a moment, and with a sudden slam of her palms to the ground, she forced her eyes open." Nice..." She commented slowly, her jaw was tightly clenched and she seemed to be having an internal battle of her own.
Jo clambered off Kris and took her hands, pulling her to her feet. "This is making life a little tough for you, eh?" She could see the internal fight, the bad trying to overtake the good is what it looked like.
Kris shrugged," Nothing I can't handle, just sucks because Orion has the MOST annoying voice in the world." She smirked lightly and bent over slightly, rested her palms on her knees.
Jo nodded and looked at the clock on the wall. "We probably ought to call it done anyway, Xander's going to be here in a minute or two and we'll need to talk. I need to get to know him better." She reached out and pulled Kris into another tight hug. "Why don't you go get cleaned up and give Hayden a call."
Kris returned the hug, just as tightly," Sounds like a plan." She pulled away, smirked lightly," Have a good one with Xander." She then winked and smiled," This was good, I'm just happy to be home..and glad to see you're in one piece."
"I think I'm about the only one, honestly." Jo grimaced and shook her head, patting Kris lightly on the back. "I'll catch you later, let me know how it goes with Hayden, ok?"
" Of course, any and all gossip rights go to you." She then smirked and wandered off across the gym towards the elevator, casting a look over her a shoulder before she simply smiled and kept on walking.
A little sore, a little wired and a little tired but it felt good to be doing something. Felt good to be hanging with Jo again, been a long time. Now I have a certain someone I need to call...
Lil ole me went on a hunt for a special someone and you know what? I found her.
Jo leaned against the wall next to the entrance of the gym. A burning cigarette hung loosely between her fingers as she mulled over the events of the last couple days. When she finished this, she was gonna go looking for Kris and give that woman a monster hug.
Kris had after grabbing some food and a talk with Rhiannon, gone on the search well not so much a search more of a hunt for Jo. She took the elevator down to the gym floor, arching an eyebrow as it was empty. No sign of Nick either, she'd have to check in with him at some point but right now, needed to find Jo. She wandered towards the entrance of the gym and stuck her head out before she smirked as her eyes rested on Jo," Miss me?" She teased.
Jo jumped at looked over at the familiar voice teasing her from the door way. She dropped the half finished cigarette and bounded over to Kris, engulfing her in that hug. "Yes!" She squeezed the woman and broke into a huge grin.
Kris laughed as she returned the hug," Missed you too." She murmured and grinned. She still had some black in her eyes but she was doing okay, a lot less with the creepy.
Jo released the other woman and grabbed her hand instead, dragging her to where the butt had been dropped. She bent to retrieve it and took a drag. "Wait with me a minute while I finish this, then we should go hang out and talk."
Kris allowed herself to be dragged," I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." She affirmed with a nod," Hanging out and talking sounds good though, haven't done that for a longggg time."
Jo made short work of the half smoke and stubbed it out against the wall. "Where do we want to go?" She dropped the cold butt into a trash can and tipped her head at Kris in question.
Kris shrugged," Um..mine or your room? I mean I just love being out of lockdown but the.." She glanced around and shifted at the shadows," The shadows out here kind of creep me out."
Jo nodded and grabbed the door, pulling it open. "Mine.. I have Cleo and she'd love to see her mommy." She smiled warmly at Kris, holding the door for her to enter. "And I got chocolate." She winked and grinned quietly.
Kris smirked lightly and lifted her eyebrows," Chocolate hey? You know me too well." She then wandered back into the warehouse," How's Cleo? Hopefully she didn't eat your socks, she does that you know...it's weird."
Jo chortled and shook her head faintly. "As far as I know, she hasn't eaten anything she wasn't supposed to. She's got Jayden for company, afterall." Now of course, they'd walk into her room and discover it absolutely destroyed by two hyper kittens.
" Oh boy." Kris commented to the sound of the two kittens being together, she slid her hands into the pockets of her jeans," So how are you?"
"I've been alright, a little stressed." Jo keyed the door to her room after they got off the lift, and opened the door, pushing it in so Kris could enter. "It's been a pretty wild ride around here lately." Her voice was tight, her eyes matching the tone.
Kris frowned lightly, taking Jo's hand and giving it a light squeeze," Hopefully it'll be less of a wild ride with me around huh? I mean I'm not all myself yet but definitely making less with the creepy." She offered Jo a slight smile before she tipped her head as one black and one grey kitten went sliding across the floor.
Jo squeezed back and smiled, closing the door behind them, lest two kitties decide it's time to escape and go rambling around the warehouse. "I think you'll be just fine." She met Kris' eyes without flinching at the black still there and smiled warmly.
Kris gave Jo a smile that matched hers," Anyways, you should have smelt me after I got out of lockdown." She pulled a slight face and smirked," Don't know how Hayden stood it."
Jo wrinkled her nose in sympathy, both for Hayden for putting up with the odor and for Kris for having to live in it. "I suppose it doesnt get much worse than that, eh?" She scooped Cleo up and held her out to Kris before sitting down in her desk chair.
Kris took Cleo and began to coe at her as she rubbed her hand over Cleo's stomach, her cat was obviously happy to see her by the way it was nuzzling close to her and purring loudly. Kris' memories of what she had done as Orion's slave was still fuzzy but she knew with time, they would come back but she would deal with them," No it doesn't, but it's good to be out."
Jo nodded faintly and watched her best friend quietly, glad the kitten hadn't rejected her. Animals knew when something was really wrong, and the way Cleo reacted to Kris told her everything was going to turn out just as it should. "I can't imagine, honestly. Siddown.. want something to drink?" This said as she rummaged in a desk drawer and came up with a bar of plain chocolate for the other woman.
Kris took a seat on one of the nearby chairs, before she frowned lightly as Cleo batted at her eyes," Okay..down you go." She murmured softly, as she placed her black kitten on the ground. She then looked to Jo, and her eyes lit up at the bar of chocolate, man she was too easy.
Jo chuckled softly and tossed the candy to Kris, then grabbing a couple sodas and offering one to her friend before opening her own. She sat on the floor near where Kris had settled and looked up to her. "I'm not gonna dig at you for what happened.. I'm just glad you're back with us."
Kris caught the candy before she took the soda being offered to her, she broke off a bit of chocolate and did what she always did with chocolate. Melted it and ate it off her thumb," Yeah same here, I was kind of off there for a while.." She shrugged and smirked down at Jo,
Jo just chuckled softly and sipped at her soda. She set it on the floor and sprawled out, arms behind her head and looked up at the ceiling of the room. "So honestly, how are you?"
Kris exhaled slowly and shrugged." I'll be alright, he's still in here..." At this point, she tapped the side of her head," Most of me is back though so that's where he's going to stay, in my head..and yeah, kinda messed but I'll be alright."
Jo pushed herself up and got to her knees, shuffling to where Kris sat, and she wrapped her friend in a hug. "I'm here, and if he decides he's gonna do something else to you, I'll help you through." She squeezed tightly.
Kris' arms went around Jo, squeezing her back tightly before she let out a long held breath," Thanks." Her voice held a slight waver.
Jo rubbed her hands ovr Kris' back slowly, just holding on and letting both her friend and the nasty that was trying to control her that she was there, and completely unwilling to let go.
Kris closed her eyes and rested her forehead down on Jo's shoulder, her breaths were shaky but they calmed with Jo's hands as they rubbed across her back." It's good to be home." She said with a slight smile.
Jo just kept with the soothing rub, a peaceful look on her face and in her eyes. "It's very good to have to home, the babies and I missed you." So spoken, both kittens scattered over to them and started pawing and batting both women.
Kris nodded weakly, her arms tightening around Jo for another brief moment before she groaned." Oh man..and I'm crying, I don't do this." She laughed slightly, moving a hand to wipe at her eyes.
"Mph.. you'd think we were married.. me and the babies." Jo laughed softly and shook her head faintly. She dropped one hand and shoved it in her pocket, looking for a tissue or a bandana or some such. Finding one, she pulled it out and offered it to Kris.
Kris took it and wiped at her eyes," I hate crying." She muttered with a smirk, pulling away slightly before she shrugged. Her dark eyes considerably lighter before her gaze dropped to Jo's hand and she couldn't resist commenting," Though by the looks of it, you are already."
Jo flushed and sat back on her heels, nodding. "Kinda looks that way." She took the ring off and offered it to Kris for inspection, it had the engraving in it, of course. It was already slightly scratched and scuffed as she never took it off for anything.
Kris lifted it up to her eyes, arched an eyebrow," Nice." She then smiled and offered the ring back.
Jo took it and slid it back on her finger, flexing her hand to settle it back in place as she smiled. "Thanks.. it was a very nice surprise for me, I had no idea she was going to do this." Jo looked around her room and chuckled softly. "Pretty soon, you'll meet her.. I don't think you have yet."
" I had a brief meeting with her that one morning." Kris said with a nod before she leaned back into her seat and worked on threading her fingers through one another, a nervous habit but it stopped her from clenching her hands.
"Oh yeah, like that was fun for you." Jo remembered, shaking her head. "Still sorry about that. No, she's actually thinking of giving her room over to Giles.. which would end up with her moving in here." She gestured around the room they sat in before taking Kris' hands in her own and gripping them firmly.
" Big step." Kris said with a nod before her gaze dropped to her hands being held by Jo," I hope it all works out, you know all that good stuff." She offered Jo a smirk which turned to a smile.
Jo smiled, her eyes holding the knowledge that everything would work out as it was meant to be. "Yeah, big indeed. But thanks." She winced as her knees finally protested being used to hold her upright. She shifted and settled her butt on the floor, back to Kris, leaning against her legs.
Kris looked down at Jo and rested her arms around her neck," What do you suggest I do? Call Hayden or surprise him by showing up at his house?" She then tipped her head at Jo.
Jo tipped her head back to look up at Kris, a thoughtful look on her face. "I guess if I was you, I'd call first. He probably would freak out a little if you just turned up at his door." She reached up and laid herhands over Kris' wrists lightly.
Kris smirked lightly and chuckled," Yeah, can you imagine that?" She then went on to say," Oh hey Hayden, yeah I'm no longer being controlled by a bad ass demon, and I wanted to see you so here I am." She then laughed and shook her head," Oh yeah, that would work great, huh?"
Jo chuckled softly and shook her head slightly. "The phone's right there if you want to call him." She gave a gentle smile as she pointed at the desk where the phone was.
" Nah, I'll call him later. This is Jo time." She said with a smile and a wink.
Jo beamed at those words and she tightened her fingers across Kris' wrists lightly. "Cool, I like having time just be for me and someone else."
Kris chuckled lightly and smiled before she leaned down and gave Jo's head a kiss," Missed this you know, what with the.." She trailed off and shrugged.
Jo understood, she didn't require any other explanation. She just hoped Kris didn't get hauled off again, she didn't think she'd be able to handle that. "Yeah.." Her voice was soft, wistful.
Kris caught the change in Jo's voice and ended up, curling her arms that much tighter around Jo's neck and nuzzling her head against hers," Hey, not going anywhere unless it's to kick some major demon ass." She offered Jo a light grin and a wiggle of her eyebrows.
Jo chuckled softly and shook her head. "Not so go mommy on you, but not by yourself, ok? Not even just with Hayden, I want you safe and fully well before you run off to kick any ass at all."
Kris nodded and said with a solemn look," You have my promise I'm not going anywhere until I'm fully well, even then I'm taking back up."
Jo nodded as well and smiled faintly. "Good." She fell silent, appearing to be thinking about things.
Kris tipped her head to the side, as she watched Jo's face. She took his moment to stay quiet, knowing that everyone needed quiet time when they thought. She rested her chin on Jo's shoulder and simply looked at her.
Jo blinked a few times and shook her head slowly. "It's been so.. wrong.. around here. Giles all messed up and Buffy not herself, you'd gone missing.. Giles is getting better now, and you're back, but not up to speed. Buffy.. I'm not so sure what's going to happen with that.." She fell silent again with a sigh.
Kris frowned lightly before she ran her hand over Jo's hair softly and said reassuring," Hey it's going to be okay, trust me okay? It's all fucked up now but it'll sort, it will." She squeexed Jo softly and pressed a kiss to her hair.
Jo sighed again and nodded. "I'm sure it will.. but at the moment it feels like waiting for the other shoe to drop, what's gonna come next? Who'll die now? Who'll be stolen away this time?"
Kris nodded," Yeah I know, it's all part of our new life." She sighed softly," No-one knows whats coming next Jo, thats what makes life so much fun. We shouldn't think about the when's, the whose and the if's. It's all about living in the present, what we have and who we have now." She tipped her head to look at Jo and gave her another light squeeze.
Jo gave a half smile and nodded, speaking quietly. "Yeah, I know. I don't really have to like that any day, one of my friends could just vanish though." She reached for her forgotten soda and took a slow sip, clearing the bitter flavor of her previous words out of her mouth.
" Yeah I know, it sucks." Kris said with a sigh," Sometimes I wish I hadn't been called you know? But then I see how much fucked up shit is out there and I'm happy that I can do something about it," She smoothed her hand through Jo's hair.
"Yeah, same here. I said something along those lines to Shayne.. she's new here, a new magic person." Jo couldn't quite bring herself to call those people witches, though she supposed that's what they were, truthfully.
" New magic person hey?" Kris nodded slightly and smirked," Least we got new people coming in."
Jo grimaced and then laughed. "Yeaahhh.. she studied with the same coven in England that Willow did." Her tone was wry, she felt bad for the people who had no knowledge and were suddently thrust into the know of this world.
Kris wiggled in her seat which in turned wiggled Jo with her," Well I'm sure she'll be fine, once she gets shown the ropes of course."
Jo chuckled softly and finished the last of her soda after Kris finished wiggling. "I imagine she will be just fine indeed." There were plenty of wonderful people here to show new ones how things worked, and how to be safe.
" Yep." Kris affirmed with a nod," I've got to get back into training and attempt watcher, slayer bonding. Gabriel and I aren't exactly close." She shrugged and exhaled slowly.
Jo nodded faintly. "I'll train with you, Xander's going to take over watcher-ing for me for a while, I think. Gabe's been busy, and hurting inside." She was referring to Mycroft's death, of course. "I don't know who my patrol partner is going to end up being though.
Kris tipped her head," Sure sounds great." She then sighed," I'm not going to be the best slayer for a watcher to have..." She trailed off and shrugged," Oh well but sure training sounds good."
Jo looked at the clock and then at Kris with a half smile. "You want to go down to the gym and get a light session in?" Her shoulders flexed and relaxed as she said that, she needed a good sparring session, but she wasn't sure her friend would be up for it.
Kris chew on her bottom lip," Sure, why not?" She shrugged," I don't really think I can train deep..more like light training, body's still..well..dettoxing in a sense."
Jo nodded again and leaned forward slightly, aware of the arms still around her neck and resting on her shoulders. "Let's do it then.." She grinned faintly. "I have to meet with Xander in a bit anyway, so the gym works out well for me.
" Alright cool." Kris unwrapped her arms from around Jo's neck," Go easy on me okay? I'm kind of miss shakealot at the moment." She smirked lightly and looked at Jo.
Jo chortled softly and clambered up from the floor to her feet, offering a hand to Kris. "I won't whip ya too bad." She grinned and shook her head slowly.
Kris took the offered hand," Ahh I knew you loved me really." She winked and got to her feet.
Jo snickered and tugged Kris' hand as she moved to the door, opened and slipped through into the hallway. "Of course I do, you're my best friend around this place."
Kris smirked," I know how you feel." With that, she followed after Jo with a smile on her lips. The first genuine one in a while.
Jo grinned and headed for the gym and a light spar or whatever they'd be doing.
Kris followed after Jo," Been a while since my last sparring session, I just see days of bruises and aches for days after." She smirked lightly at Jo.
Jo cackled and looked back for a moment after she punched the button for the elevator. "You'll love every second of it. Besides, I said I'd go easy on ya."
" Love every second of it huh?" Kris eyed Jo cautiously and noted the cackle," You know with a laugh like that, I find that very hard to believe." She gave Jo a playful nudge.
Jo just grinned and got on the lift, dragging Kris with her. "I will, wouldn't want to put you back out of commission, after all." The elevator decended and let them off into the gym.
" Yeah, because that would just suck. Little ole me out of commision again." Kris said with a tip of her head and a small grin.
"You've not been having too much luck lately." Jo stepped over to the boxing area and gave Kris a questioning look. "Little hand to hand?"
Kris nodded," Sure sounds good." She moved over to the boxing area, placing her feet slightly apart and shrugging her shoulders for a moment.
Jo stretched a little and took a stance opposite Kris, shaking herself out a bit. "After you.." She grinned, inviting the other woman to throw the first blow.
Kris arched an eyebrow before she raised her fists, and took a swing for Jo's chin as the other moved to hit at her side. She exhaled slowly with every punch, concentrating on her target.
Jo's head moved to avoid the blow to the chin, but the one to her side landed quite firmly, her own hands struck out, aimed at Kris' right shoulder and left hip.
Kris stepped back on her heel, using the movement to miss the hit to her right shoulder but she took the hit to her hip, fairly sure she would have a bruise there in the morning. Using the impact of the hit to help her momentum, she twisted round and hit for Jo's shoulder as the other hand curled up towards Jo's stomach.
Jo'd been thrown off balance by missing Kris' shoulder and both the other woman's blows landed hard, she lost her breath briefly, taking a stumbling step back and grinning. She lshed out low with her right foot, trying to hook it behind Kris' knees to bring her down.
Kris' eyes widened slightly before she arched her back and pressed her hands down on the ground, to avoid from falling on her back. Grunting slightly she managed to flip herself around to her front before she rolled forward and got to her feet.
Jo looked at Kris and frowned faintly. "Problems?" Still on her guard, she waited to see what the reciprocation of that knock down would be.
Kris shook her head slightly, closing her eyes for a moment as she felt a familiar presence tugging at the back of her mind. Opening them slowly, she exhaled slowly and cracked her neck. " Nice move."
"Thanks." Jo took a lazy swipe with a half curled fist, aiming it for Kris' jaw, her eyes hooded as she fell into the rhythm of the fight.
Kris moved an arm up to block the punch to her jaw before she ducked in low, wrapped an arm around Jo and with a grunt mostly due to exertion, she attempted to lift the other woman off her feet and move her to the ground on her back. She kept her feet flat on the ground to keep her balance.
Jo dropped her center of gravity, making it extremely hard for Kris to get her off the ground. Her own stance was wide and low now and they grappled for control for a moment.
Kris smirked slightly, turning on her heel and so now her back was bracing across Jo's and with another spin, she attempted to shift the current grapple's momentum. She shifted her own center of gravity for a moment, making her side of the grapple a little easier.
Jo grunted as she was twisted and turned quite without her help and she hit the mats hard, but she managed to take Kris with her and she pinned the other woman to the floor.
Kris tipped her head, giving Jo a smirk before she frowned. Eyes closing for a moment, and with a sudden slam of her palms to the ground, she forced her eyes open." Nice..." She commented slowly, her jaw was tightly clenched and she seemed to be having an internal battle of her own.
Jo clambered off Kris and took her hands, pulling her to her feet. "This is making life a little tough for you, eh?" She could see the internal fight, the bad trying to overtake the good is what it looked like.
Kris shrugged," Nothing I can't handle, just sucks because Orion has the MOST annoying voice in the world." She smirked lightly and bent over slightly, rested her palms on her knees.
Jo nodded and looked at the clock on the wall. "We probably ought to call it done anyway, Xander's going to be here in a minute or two and we'll need to talk. I need to get to know him better." She reached out and pulled Kris into another tight hug. "Why don't you go get cleaned up and give Hayden a call."
Kris returned the hug, just as tightly," Sounds like a plan." She pulled away, smirked lightly," Have a good one with Xander." She then winked and smiled," This was good, I'm just happy to be home..and glad to see you're in one piece."
"I think I'm about the only one, honestly." Jo grimaced and shook her head, patting Kris lightly on the back. "I'll catch you later, let me know how it goes with Hayden, ok?"
" Of course, any and all gossip rights go to you." She then smirked and wandered off across the gym towards the elevator, casting a look over her a shoulder before she simply smiled and kept on walking.
A little sore, a little wired and a little tired but it felt good to be doing something. Felt good to be hanging with Jo again, been a long time. Now I have a certain someone I need to call...